Edguy- Space Police: Defenders Of The Crown Review

Edguy- Space Police: Defenders Of The Crown

Rating: 6/10

This album is okay. But before I
begin on why, I have to pose a question. What is it with bands rejecting “labels”, and putting out bad music instead? So many bands, new and old, are now rejecting labels, saying they aren’t
“metal” or they aren’t “black metal”, or they aren’t “power metal”, etc. Well, they are completely correct. They try and be something they are not to be “different”, and instead, they put out
garbage. And this is the case with this album. It is slightly unique, I will give them that.

I don’t think Edguy have really been
good since Hellfire Club. That was a pretty solid album. Quite a few of those songs are classics. But that was the last good Edguy album. I was not looking forward to this album, because I know
how much metal sucks now, but I was hopeful.

Let’s start with the title and
cover, and then get deeper. The title is a little cheesy, but not a stretch for Edguy. The title, along with the cover, suggests they are going for a space theme, which is somewhat accurate. The
cover is stupid. The background of space is kind of cool, but the space police officer has a porn-stache and an ascot, the gun looks like he got it at Home Depot, and what is the alien doing? Is
it giving him a hug? It’s a weird and silly cover. On to the important part- the music.

The production is pretty good, I can
hear all the parts fairly equally. As far as the instruments go, it’s pretty boring. There are not really any good guitar riffs that stand out, short of some intros and not many really cool solos
either. The guitar work is pretty bland. Not a lot of outstanding bass parts either, it’s just there, and the drums, while pretty heavy, just keep the beat. The album does get pretty heavy at
times. The vocals are the highlight, as usual, but it’s still not all that. The vocal melodies overall are dull.

Sabre & Torch and Space Police
are listenable. They are just okay. Sabre & Torch has some good vocal lines. The “spacy” part at the end of Space Police is where I had to change the track. It’s annoying and silly. Defenders
of the Crown is a GREAT song though. Definitely the best on the album, I’d say an instant classic, and it would fit very well as part of an older album. The riffs are good, vocals are killer,
awesome melodies, it’s catchy, but not over the top, it’s POWER METAL! All the great qualities of Edguy are in this song. But then all joy goes right to hell with the next tune, Love Tyger. What
is this bullshit? Edguy isn’t a glam band, and for good reason! It’s easily one of the most poppy, queer songs I’ve ever heard. It’s very out of place on the album. All the things people despise
about the glam scene… well here it is. The Realms of Baba Yaga is back to mediocrity. Not horrible, but not great. I do like the group chorus in this song, and others on the album. It’s
reminiscent of Theater of Salvation era Edguy, and at least shows they’re trying. The next song is Rock Me Amadeus. Do I need to say more? Filler bullshit. Useless, unnecessary, and just really
bad. It’s a horrible song to begin with. Why cover it? Some decisions I just shake my head at. What the hell were they thinking? Next is Do Me Like A Caveman. Once again, what were they thinking
with this title? So this group of guys want to savagely get it from behind while a large Neanderthal grunts and thrusts into them? The song itself though is actually really good. The piano parts
add a lot of atmosphere. More good vocal lines, and a catchy chorus without being poppy. I dig this one, at least until the “do me like a caveman” line, which I feel is completely unnecessary and
out of place in an otherwise happy, nice song. Shadow Eaters is next, another good tune, with all the qualities of Edguy we’re looking for. Alone in Myself is pointless. It’s boring, doesn’t do a
whole lot, it’s just there. The Eternal Wayfarer is definitely an interesting track. This is Edguy’s failed attempt (though not miserably) at recreating the song, Theater Of Salvation. It’s the
longest track on the album, and also the biggest and most “epic”. It’s a good song, but not nearly as interesting as I think they wanted it to be. And this is where the album ends. Because the
last two songs are straight downhill. England was a lot better when Motley Crue did it and called it Home Sweet Home. And Aychim in Hysteria is a weird poppy glam ballad thing, and sounds like
something that would be much better left to Whitesnake.

This album is a prime example of why Itunes exists. Get the few good songs from this album and scrap
the rest. The album is unique, with some good tracks, but they are trying too hard to be something they are not, and it turned into a disaster.

Highlight tracks: Defenders Of The Crown (best song), Do Me Like A Caveman, Shadow Eaters, The Eternal Wayfarer